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Pack waste free lunches

9/22/2023

Packing lunches into reusable containers with real utensils and washable napkins not only cuts down on food and packaging waste but also saves you money on purchasing disposable items and small serving size packages.

Packing up lunch items into reusable containers eliminates the single use plastic sandwich bags and allows you to dispense the amount that will be eaten in a meal, cutting down wasting uneaten food. Buy larger quantities of snacks, carrots, applesauce, yogurt, or cheese, and just pack the quantity needed for one meal, saving you money compared to the pre-packaged single servings, which also produce a lot more trash. Dips, ketchup, sauces, and dressing can also be portioned into small reusable containers. Cloth napkins and stainless steel or bamboo utensils are great options for replacing the disposable ones. Pour water or other drinks into a reusable bottle, or use a thermos to keep drinks hot or cold for hours. Then pack everything in a reusable lunch box or bag! Bento box style lunch boxes offer a variety of options for container types and sizes.
See this article for other ideas.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

The many names of palm oil, driver of deforestation

9/15/2023

Palm oil appears on labels under many names, including palmate, glyceryl, stearic acid, and sodium lauryl sulfate.

Palm oil, a major driver of deforestation and climate change, is the most popularly used vegetable oil in the world, used in everything from snack food to shampoo to biofuel.

Palmate, glyceryl, stearic acid, sodium lauryl sulfate—these are just a few of the dozens of names palm oil and its derivatives appear as on products. For certified sustainable palm oil, look for labels from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) or the Rainforest Alliance.

Read more here.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Make your own soda

9/8/2023

Make refreshing maple cream and other sodas at home with just a few ingredients--and lose the calories, additives, and packaging of store-bought.

Homemade sodas use wholesome ingredients and much less sugar than commercial varieties, not to mention no high fructose corn syrup or preservatives. They are also easier on your pocketbook and the environment. How does maple cream, honey ginger, lemon basil or lavender plum sound?

Read more here.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Fans use less energy than air conditioners

9/1/2023

Modern fans are more energy efficient than ever and use about 1% of the electricity an air conditioner uses.

Fans use about 1% of the electricity an air conditioner uses and zero planet-heating refrigerants. When it's humid, fans can be especially effective in beating the heat. Here is a list of best window, tower, ceiling, oscillating, bedroom, and budget fans.

Read more in this article.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Make your own popsicles

8/25/2023

Make your own icy treats with high-quality stainless steel popsicle molds.

All popsicle molds reduce single-use waste and allow you to choose healthy ingredients but, compared to plastic or silicone molds, stainless steel molds are longer lasting, more dishwasher-hardy, and quickest to unmold.

Read more in this article.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Avoid single-use coffee pods

8/11/2023

Consider the waste generated when using single use coffee pods

Single use coffee pods have become very popular due to their convenience for making a single cup of coffee. However, those pods are difficult to recycle, which means they all end up in the trash and are amounting to a huge addition to the waste stream. InHabitat.com lists some alternatives that are now on the market that are either refillable, biodegradable, or make changes to existing machines so that they can now make single cups of coffee. Since few people actually recycle coffee pods, some coffee pod manufacturers are trying to make pod recycling easier.

Repel mosquitoes with a fan

8/4/2023

Use a fan outside as a chemical-free way to keep mosquitoes away.

According to the American mosquito control association , mosquitoes are weak fliers and so can be easily kept away from the wind created by a simple box fan in your outdoor seating area. A fan will also disperse the carbon dioxide that you exhale and other odors that mosquitoes use to find their hosts. This is a much better method than using a general spray, which eliminates all insects, pests and beneficial alike, disrupting the ecology not only in your yard but also that of your neighbors.

See another green tip for reducing mosquito populations sustainably.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Apply mulch around your plants and trees

7/28/2023

Bare ground around your plants exposes their roots to excessive dryness, cold and hot temperatures, and compacted, low-nutrient soil.

Applying mulch around your plants and trees helps maintain the health of the plants and soil and cuts back on the need for extra watering and fertilizers. Mulches can be made up of a variety of organic and inorganic material, including leaves, compost mixes, bark, and woodchips. Save a pile of leaves from the fall to use as mulch over the winter and into the next summer. A 2-4 inch layer of mulch helps retain moisture, suppresses growth of weeds, protects roots from extreme temperatures (both winter and summer), adds nutrients as the mulch decomposes, and improves soil structure and drainage. Mulch also houses beneficial micro- and macro-organisms, improving the health of the local ecosystem. Be careful not to apply mulch too deeply and not to touch the trunks of trees: pull mulch several inches back from the base.

For more details, see this article at Treesaregood.com

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Hot weather cooking

7/21/2023

When the weather is hot, cook outdoors or prepare meals that don’t require cooking.

Using the stove and oven adds heat to your house, so when the weather is hot, find ways to avoid using them so that your air conditioner does not have to work overtime, adding to your summer energy use. Plan to eat salads and sandwiches or other dishes that do not require cooking. Do your cooking on the grill so that all of the heat produced is outside of the house. Another option is to use smaller appliances such as the toaster oven, slow-cooker, or microwave, which all produce much less heat and use less energy.

For more details, check out this article in Consumer Reports:
Mary H.J. Farrell, July 9, 2021. Cooking tips for hot weather: How to keep your cool in the kitchen this summer. Consumerreports.org.

Writing by hand creates much more activity in the sensorimotor parts of the brain than typing

7/14/2023

The perks should not be lost to technology. New brain research shows that writing by hand helps children learn more and remember better. Handwriting gives the brain more hooks to hang memories on. Read more here.

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